Sunday, 29 March 2015

A Toy Music Box Is A Toy For Life

Music box collectors and enthusiasts often have a wide variety of music boxes in their collections. Some collectors may prefer music boxes that play wonderful music, while others might opt for those that provide an ornate home to jewelry and family heirlooms. But what we often forget when discussing music boxes is that nearly all of us have been touched by their song at one time or another. There are many children’s toys that have an almost universal appeal and presence; teddy bears, a baby doll, toy cars, and yes, a toy music box too.

Every day millions of babies are lulled to sleep by the soothing sounds of a music box. And every day many of those same babies wake up to play with a toy music box. Whether it is a Jack-In-The-Box whose song is a precursor to him springing from his box, or a stuffed toy that is wound up and plays a lullaby, music boxes become part of our lives at the earliest of ages.

Older children have strong ties to music boxes as well. Many girls enjoy a toy music box in the form of a music jewelry box that opens to reveal more than just jewelry. Maybe the most popular toy music box for girls is the ballerina music box which opens to display the performance of a ballerina, or maybe an ice skater, who twirls gracefully across a stage of mirrored glass. Boys, on the other hand, might be more familiar with a toy music box that displays circling airplanes, trains, or cars instead of a dancing or skating performer. Of course, there are countless versions of the toy music box that we all remember, regardless of our gender. Toy clocks, radios, televisions, records players, and CD players, all of them have taken the form of a music box and have provided hours of fun to countless children.

As adults many of us still have an interest in toy music boxes. Whether it is a musical snow globe, a souvenir from a vacation, or even the music boxes that we enjoyed in our youth, for many a toy music box is something that stays with us for a lifetime.